“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured ...." Hebrews 12:1-3

According to the above passage, the reason why Jesus endured the cross was because of the joy that was set before Him. What was the substance of this joy? Part of it must have been the satisfaction that Jesus experienced in knowing that He had faithfully completed the work His Father had given to Him and partly the satisfaction of knowing that His death on the cross would produce the Church. The night before He died Jesus was able to pray, "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began" (Jn 15:5). Thus on the cross, He was able to say in complete surrender and obedience to His Father, "It is finished" (Jn 19:30).

The writer of Hebrews encourages us to consider Jesus’ example so that we "will not grow weary and lose heart" (Heb 12:3). We need to continually keep our focus on the goal towards which we press, then we shall be filled with joy. We can look forward to the day when we will enjoy the tremendous satisfaction of our faithful service to the Lord in His House and our being fully conformed to the image of Christ. In some of the final words the Apostle Paul wrote, he gives us an insight into the joyous anticipation that we all can enjoy as the result of faithful service and sacrifice to the Lord: "...I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing" (2 Tim 4:7-8).

Along with the joy that we experience as we faithfully serve the Lord, we can also experience the joy that develops as we realize that we are sacrifice ourselves or carry our cross for the sake of the building of the other saints. The Apostle Paul revealed the depths of such selfless sacrifice in 2Corinthians 4:12, “So then death operates in us, but life in you.” Our great maturity is demonstrated when we seek not so much our own spiritual gain or sacrifice ourselves only for our own spiritual advancement, but on behalf of other members of the Body of Christ. When we attain to such selfless love and sacrifice for the progress and joy of the other saints, we shall then relate to the kind of joy Paul wrote about to the Thessalonians, "For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy" (1Thes 2:19-20). The Thessalonians were his "glory and joy." The apostle Paul's joy, as well as it should be our joy, to see that someday we had played an instrumental role in allowing the Lord to operate through us in bringing many saints into glory. We are all members one of another. Therefore, we live and function not only for ourselves, but also for the benefits of other members of the Body of Christ. As we live in such integral part of the Body life, the saints become part of the joy that the Lord gives us both now and at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet for us to surrender ourselves completely to the Lord’s will and to devote ourselves to the supplying and building of each other in the Body of Christ, we must necessarily carry our cross and die to our self-life; only then will we discover the indescribable joy that is full of glory!